IIHF News - Indiahttp://www.iihf.com/
IIHF News from www.iifh.comenIIHF News - Indiahttp://www.iihf.com/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gifhttp://www.iihf.com/
1816IIHF News from www.iifh.comTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssFri, 31 Jul 2015 11:59:00 +0200Hockey camp kicks off in Koreahttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9941
Asia gets a boost with Hockey Together programSEOUL – From July 20 to 27, Korea University will play host to more than 150 hockey-mad athletes and officials from seven countries, as part of the country’s Hockey Together program. Their mission? To eat, sleep, and dream hockey.

Coming from India, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Korea, the participants will undergo a week of intensive hockey training. Alongside these players and officials are a group of dedicated instructors. The instructors come from all levels of hockey, and are ready to share knowledge and exchange experiences with the participants. National Program Director Jim Paek will be a special instructor for the camp. Other notable instructors include Jiri Fischer, who played for the Detroit Red Wings his entire NHL career.

The purpose of this camp is to foster close ties and develop the game among the invited countries, who are members in good standing with the Korea Olympic Committee. It also has the added purpose of promoting the sport in view of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games.

Click here to view Hockey Together's Facebook page

As the name of the camp implies, Hockey Together is all about development. There are six programs at the camp, providing participants with a structure that is conducive to learning. The development programs are focused on players, coaches, goalie coaches, team and equipment managers, and game officials. It is in many ways modeled after the annual IIHF Development Camp held in Vierumaki, Finland, and a number of staff from that camp made the trip to Korea to help out.

Camp participants are male players born between 1997 and 2001. One way the camp is trying to ensure that players in this age group retain their interest in ice hockey careers is to develop coaches that can instill positive values into a player or a team.

For this purpose Hockey Together is hoping to assist coaches in developing their skills in hockey knowledge or management. Moreover, increasingly teams are seeking the services of a goalie coach, a need for many of the participating nations that the program is also hoping to address.

Just like goalie coaches, equipment and team managers are often overlooked as well. The programs at this camp will allow for more knowledge to be shared among this group of managers. Lastly, the game official program is customized to ensure that all officiating needs are met.

Aside from the week-long training and competition, the foreign participants will be taken on a sightseeing trip on their day off. Once the participants return to their home country, it is the hope of the organizers that they share the knowledge gained at the camp with others in their country. The Hockey Together camp is made possible with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, the Korea Olympic Committee, Korea University, and the Korea Ice Hockey Association.

With files from Hockey Together

]]>on topOlympics10 JapanChinaChinese TaipeiDPR KoreaKoreaMalaysiaSingaporeSerbiaWed, 22 Jul 2015 13:28:00 +0200Kuwait wins on home icehttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9648
Gulf State earns promotion in Challenge Cup of AsiaFor Kuwait, which was relegated at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the goal of making it a short stay at the Division I was perfectly fulfilled.

The Kuwaitis, who had two training camps in Swedish town Hallstahammar (see separate story), won all five games to call first place theirs.

In an emotional opening game against Singapore Abdul Aziz Shetail scored a hat trick for the 5-3 victory. The Kuwaitis had less trouble against India, 10-2, and then beat Malaysia 1-0 thanks to Ahmad Al Ajmi’s game-winner at 11:31 of the third period. The low score mainly came about thanks to a strong Malaysian goalie Tengku Azlly Tengku Abdillah, who had 42 saves.

Kuwait continued with a 5-0 blanking of newcomer Oman and then beat last year’s runner-up Kyrgyzstan 9-3 on the final day.

Singapore showed an improved performance and earned the silver medals. They did not only deliver a tough game to Kuwait but also beat Kyrgyzstan 5-3 in a close match. Kyrgyzstan was involved in the battle for the tournament win until the last day but had to settle for the bronze medals.

The revelation of the tournament was Oman. The country only has an ice rink of smaller dimensions (45 on 25 metres) but its players showed from the beginning that they were able to contribute in a positive way to the tournament. In their first-ever official game they beat India 6-5 in shootout followed by another win after game-winning shots, 8-7 against Malaysia, before being ousted by the top-three teams in the other games.

Malaysia only finished in fifth place despite a good performance in three losses by the margin of one goal. Their forward Ban Kin Loke was the tournament’s scoring leader and top goal scorer with 12 goals and 16 points. Kuwait’s Meshal Al Ajmi came second and impressed with nine goals and 15 points as a defenceman.

India, which secured the finances for the trip late through a crowdfounding campaign (see separate story), battled hard but the men from the Himalayas, who can only play hockey during two months in winter on frozen lakes or practise in small shopping-mall rinks in the bigger cities, didn’t win any additional points after the tight opening-day loss to Oman.

“It was a perfectly organized tournament,” said IIHF Asian Project Manager Harald Springfeld. “The teams and the games have become more competitive in comparison to previous years and games were broadcast live on TV in Kuwait.”

During the event an Officiating Development Program was run led by Joy Johnston, who officiated the Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament’s gold medal game in Sochi 2014 and is now working for the United Arab Emirates Ice Hockey Association. She was the referee supervisor for the on-ice officials from six Asian countries.

Click here for scores and statistics.

MARTIN MERK]]>IIHFOmanKuwaitKyrgyzstanSingaporeMalaysiaIndia on rightFri, 24 Apr 2015 23:59:00 +0200Next stop: Kuwaithttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9602
Challenge at Persian Gulf, crowdfunding in IndiaSix national teams from the lower echelon of Asian hockey programs will compete in the event. Kuwait – the top-seeded host was relegated to the Division I last year and aims at a quick return – will welcome Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, India, Malaysia and first-time participant Oman.

Almost India had to cancel the event due to lack of government funding. But the team from India’s passionate hockey hotbed of Ladakh started a fundraising campaign and succeeded. They even got help from Anand Mahindra, who heads a conglomerate worth billions. Not only his donation helped, on Twitter he reached out to his 1.8 million followers to give the Indian ice hockey enthusiasts and their crowdfunding campaign a much welcomed audience.

India will face Oman, which became an IIHF member in last year, in the first game. Earlier that day Kyrgyzstan will play Malaysia while host Kuwait will open the event against Singapore.

Click here for the tournament page with live scores.

MARTIN MERK]]>WorldsMenOmanKuwaitIndia on rightSat, 18 Apr 2015 12:27:00 +0200Hockey high in Himalayashttp://youtu.be/wpa2dUJi9HE
VIDEO: Indian region Ladakh has big passion for the gameon topIIHFIndia on lefton rightFri, 14 Nov 2014 11:47:00 +0100Challenge Cup of Asia growshttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9102
Tournaments in Taipei, Kuwait; premiere for Oman The three tournaments are in particular aimed at Asian countries that don’t yet fulfil the minimum participation standards for the World Championship program but can compete with each other at regional tournaments with participants from the Middle East and Far East.

On the men’s side defending champion Chinese Taipei will host the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia in Taipei City, 14-19 March 2015, with the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Thailand and recently promoted Macau as the other participants.

The Division I event that will be held in Kuwait City, 18-24 April 2015, will grow to up to six teams with the men’s national teams from Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Oman intending to participate. For Oman, who became IIHF member in 2014, it will be the first participation in an IIHF event.

Taipei City will also host the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's Challenge Cup of Asia Division I from 6th to 8th November. The other two participants are Hong Kong and Thailand.

Together with the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division III Group A from 22nd to 28th March 2015 it will be three IIHF events to take place in Chinese Taipei.]]>on topIIHFChinese TaipeiHong KongIndia MacauMalaysiaMongoliaSingaporeThailandTue, 09 Sep 2014 10:59:00 +0200Tiny Macau wins on icehttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=8594
Claims inaugural Challenge Cup of Asia Div. I Click here for scores, stats, and photos.

The team, which won just one game out of three in the preliminary round, found a spark in the semi-final against Singapore, winning 2-1 in a shootout to set up a championship matchup with the host nation Kyrgyzstan. Macau’s offensive engine revved up in a big way in the final, outlasting a four-goal second period from the Kyrgyz to win the championship 5-4.

Macau’s matchup against Kyrgyzstan in the preliminary round saw the host country come back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1. The championship game might have followed the same script if not for Macau’s goaltender Chu, who faced down an incredible 91 shots on goal from the Kyrgyz.

Both teams traded goals in the first and second periods, until late in the second when Kyrgyzstan jumped ahead 4-3 on a pair of scores from Kanaibek Omurbekov and captain Amanbek Esen Uulu. A goal from Macau forward Cho Nin Ho tied the game up again and closed a wild second frame that saw a total of seven goals scored.

Chu would shut the door on Kyrgyzstan the rest of the way, and forward Zihang Lin scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to win the tournament for the Macanese.

Omurbekov claimed the tournament scoring title with ten points, including eight goals, in five games. Two of the three Directorate Award winners were forward Kim Kei Mok and goaltender Te Lin Chu were selected as the two top players of the tournament at their positions (Daniel Chew of Singapore won Best Defenceman honours).

The Division I tournament was created in August 2013 as part of a restructuring effort for the Challenge Cup of Asia. The tournament took place in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek and included Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, and India. Macau, the winning team of the inaugural Division I Challenge Cup of Asia, will advance to the Top Division next year.

For Kyrgyzstan, a fledgling hockey nation, the tournament can be counted as a success despite the host team falling in a close final. This was the first major international ice hockey tournament that the nation hosted, and in the final game over 1,100 fans turned out to support the teams. Having only recently the IIHF in 2011 there is plenty of room and lots of opportunity for this Central Asian nation to continue developing its hockey program. ]]>on leftIIHFMacauSingaporeKyrgyzstanIndia on rightMon, 03 Mar 2014 10:19:00 +0100Building Asian hockeyhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=8225
Seminar in Malaysia continues development effortsTen countries – Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates – along with 13 Coaching Directors/Instructors from the Asian region came together to share their coaching knowledge and get tips on how to help develop ice hockey in their regions.

Click here for a highlight video of the seminar.

“It has been a very good week and everybody was willing to learn, we look forward to working with the countries very hard on their future development and to make the next steps in order to grow hockey in Asia,” said IIHF Vice-President Thomas Wu. “Without the commitment to our development activities from all the countries this wouldn’t’ be possible at all.”

The week opened with a three-day instructor seminar, where an IIHF-designated instructor discussed proper teaching methods with the National Association Instructors, who then worked individually with each of the countries’ coaches, with the IIHF instructor in a supporting role. This is part of the IIHF Sport Department philosophy to “teach the teachers” who return to their own countries and teach the coaches.

Beyond the coaching seminar, opportunities to grow the game in Asia within the Asia 2022 Long-Term Development Project were introduced to all participants. The Asia 2022 project was conceived as a ten-year commitment between the IIHF and the member national associations that are members of the Asian Strategic Planning Group, to install domestic and regional development projects with the ultimate goal of raising development activities and participation levels.

For Malaysia this latest seminar was the next important step after the federation successfully started to work to establish structured officiating and coaching programs. After the Coaching Instructor seminar took place the Malaysian Ice Hockey Federation (MIHF) held their own participants’ seminar with 14 Malaysian coaches.

“Malaysia can be seen as role model when we talk about development”, said IIHF Asian Project Manager Harald Springfeld. “The Federation understands perfectly how to use the IIHF as a resource, as the IIHF cannot run hockey in all of our Member National Associations.”

“Together and in co-operation with the Malaysia Ice Hockey Federation we were evaluating the environment and status-quo for hockey in the country, then we set goals for different areas such as coaching, officiating and facilities. Then with the IIHF National Association Development Program and funding possibilities we introduced and started the necessary programs”.

In late 2014, Malaysia will get his first international standard-size ice rink. With the rink, and those development programs in place – both necessary requirements according to IIHF Minimum Participation Standards – Malaysia is aiming to join the IIHF World Championship Program.

“I would like to thank the IIHF for the possibility to work very close together and to get the support and know-how we need. The concept is working alongside the practical approach and discussions we have. We take one step after the other as we want to grow in a very healthy and natural way” said the Malaysian federation’s General Secretary Mrs. Susan Loh while already thinking to plan the next seminars and new league structure they need to have.

Up next will be a U18 development camp in March, followed by the 2014 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia in Abu Dhabi.
]]>on topHong KongIndia MacauMalaysiaMongoliaSingaporeQatarUnited Arab Emirateson leftSat, 23 Nov 2013 11:45:00 +0100Asian events restructuredhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=8090
Challenge Cup events set; bigger focus on developmentThe Challenge Cup of Asia will be restructured with two divisions on the men’s and women’s side.

Focus on development

Naturally development had the highest priority in the meetings and the Asian Group’s targets were set in close co-operation with the IIHF Development & Coaching Committee. Last year’s successfully implemented Coaching and Officiating Education series for instructors will be extended for the duration of four years with the goal of building up a special instructor pool for national associations.

In the U18 category the focus will move towards more development after the evaluation of the U18 Challenge Cup of Asia events. It is planned to organize a U18 Development Camp in Chinese Taipei in the upcoming season.

As the youngsters are the future, the Asian Strategic Planning Group wants to offer these athletes opportunities to collect international experience that they can share amongst each other back home. This kind of model can be very successful and leadership seminars for coaching and officiating will be part of the camp.

Challenge Cup of Asia restructured

With 10 teams participating in last year’s Challenge Cup of Asia in Thailand, the number of participating teams in this category has reached its all-time high. For next season the men’s category will be played in two divisions at two separate venues similar to the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program.

This will give teams the opportunity to have more quality games, make hosting the event more practical and ensure the development at the same time.

After each season the bottom-ranked team from the top division will be relegated to Division I and the Division I winner will move up to the top level.

The top division will be organized in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and the Division I tournament will be played in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which will participate in the event for the first time.

The Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia will grow significantly to eight teams split into two divisions. Some of the top Asian countries together with Australia for the first time will play in Harbin while a Division I event will be played with new countries in international women’s ice hockey including Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and host Hong Kong.

“All in all it was a successful meeting with the goal of bringing Asian countries closer to the level of hockey in Europe,” said IIHF Asian Sport Development Manager Harry Springfeld. “Having a very healthy, development-oriented and structured system will be the key for success.”

]]>on leftIIHFChinese TaipeiHong KongMongoliaThailandKuwaitUnited Arab EmiratesKyrgyzstanIndia Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:07:00 +0200Chinese Taipei wins in Bangkokhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7619
Third Challenge Cup of Asia title after 2008 and 2010After improving in the U18 World Championship program where the country hosted the Division III Group A tournament recently, fourth-seeded Chinese Taipei managed to get back to the top amongst the nations that participate in the Challenge Cup of Asia.

The team, coached by a Hungarian duo, Kristof Kovago and Zoltan Kozma, finished the tournament with a clean 7-0 record and shone both offensively with To Weng as the tournament’s top goal scorer with 11 markers, and in the defensive department where both goalkeepers, Pang-Keng Ting and Yu-Cheng Liao, had save percentages of over 93%.

Chinese Taipei defeated Kuwait (13-1), the United Arab Emirates (2-1 OT), host Thailand (7-2) and Malaysia (9-1) in the Preliminary Round. In the quarter-finals they blanked Macau 11-0 and steamrolled Kuwait 21-0 before facing Hong Kong in the final.

Hong Kong had to start in the lower-tiered Group B after missing last year’s tournament. After putting up high scores over Singapore, India, Macau and Mongolia, the Hong Kongers eliminated defending champion United Arab Emirates in a 6-3 quarter-final win. Alvin Sham and Jasper Tang scored an early 2-0 lead after just two minutes of play from which the Emirati didn’t fully recover. In another tight contest, Hong Kong defeated Mongolia 4-3 in the semi-finals thanks to Tang’s game-winning goal with eight minutes left in regulation time.

In another evenly-matched contest, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong faced each other for gold on Sunday night before 545 spectators at the full-size ice rink on the seventh floor of a shopping mall.

Chinese Taipei had the better start and Hung-Ju Lin opened the scoring at 13:24 of the first period, but John Fu tied it up for Hong Kong 90 seconds after the start of the middle frame.

The Taiwanese stroke back shortly after when Chang-Hsing Yang and Yen-Chin Shen capitalized on two power plays midway through the game.

Jordan Sun Yin Ho cut the deficit to just one goal when Hong Kong had a man advantage early in the third period, but Kai-Hsiang Chang’s 4-2 goal sealed the win for Chinese Taipei.

Mongolia claimed third place in the tournament after defeating Kuwait 11-0 in the placement game. The Mongolians had a fairy-tale finish. With the season over and no indoor ice rink available in the country, the Mongolians had a difficult start but improved throughout the tournament. They only lost two games – both against Hong Kong – but surprised with a 5-4 victory over host Thailand in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals and the bronze medal game.

Thailand had played a strong tournament and outshot Mongolia 45-18 in the quarter-final encounter, but 24-year-old forward Neguun Ganbat scored two early goals for Mongolia en route to the win. Thailand only had the lead during three minutes in the last period when Anon Rattanachot scored the 4-3 goal for the Thai, but Mongolia reacted with a shorthanded marker from Bayarsalkhan Jargalsaikhan and at 12:02 it was Munkhzaya Enkhtur, who netted the game-winning goal.

Kuwait had to settle for fourth place after losing the third-place to Mongolia followed by Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore and India.

Singapore returned after a two-year hiatus and managed to win its only game against India, 13-4.

India suffered a setback after its first-ever international win last year when they defeated Macau 5-1 on home ice in Dehradun. This year it was more difficult for the players from the foot of the Himalayas. With the season over and the only indoor ice rink disused, the Indians had trouble keeping up with their opponents and Macau gained revenge in a 9-1 victory as India finished the tournament with a 0-4 record.

The event included ten teams that played 28 games in nine days. The top-notch teams at the tournament became stronger and might be able to reach the level to challenge Division III nations from other continents in the not too distant future.

“We were able to witness that the teams made a step forward compared to last year,” said IIHF Asian Sport Development Manager Harry Springfeld. “The players played with heart and soul. We saw competitive games and had good discussions about our development programs where we hope to take another step forward since Asia is where the growth is.”

The tournament was also used to improve the level of officiating in Asian countries. For the second straight year, only Asian referees and linesmen were called to the tournament.

Among the guests that paid a visit to the tournament was the Japanese organizing committee for the 2017 Asian Winter Games and IIHF President René Fasel.

“Asian hockey has a future and we try hard with our members to create a good environment for them,” Fasel said.

Having ten teams at the event was a record for the tournament that doesn’t include the established national teams that participate in the World Championship program such as Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, China and DPR Korea.

“It was not an easy task to organize and event with that many teams, but we managed to do it altogether. My thank goes to all the participants and especially to the Ice Hockey Association of Thailand, which organized this event with us,” said IIHF Vice President Thomas Wu.

“Now we need to evaluate this tournament to decide about the next step at the next Asian Strategic Planning Group meetings in May.”

]]>on topWorldsMenChinese TaipeiHong KongMongoliaKuwaitThailandUnited Arab EmiratesMalaysiaMon, 25 Mar 2013 14:29:00 +0100Asian festival in Bangkokhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7608
Ten teams compete in first IIHF tournament in ThailandThe tournament doesn’t include the pinnacle of Asian hockey with national teams like Japan, Korea or China but is designed for Asian nations where hockey is in a developing stage that compete either in the lowest tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program or don’t take part in World Championship events right now.

The United Arab Emirates won the tournament last year in Dehradun, India (stories, videos) and enter the tournament as the defending champions. The Emirates also qualified for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III that will be played next month in Cape Town, South Africa.

Host Thailand is probably the closest nation that could potentially fulfil the criteria to play in the World Championship program in the near future and will be more than motivated to challenge the Emirates again.

In last year’s tournament the Thai won all but two games – a 4-3 loss in the preliminary round and a 3-0 defeat in the gold medal game, both times against the Emirati.

For Thailand it will also be a milestone since it will be the first-ever IIHF tournament to be hosted in the country. Games will take place at The Rink Ice Arena, which is located on the top floor of the seven-storey shopping mall Central Plaza Grand Rama 9 and has an international-size ice sheet.

This year’s Challenge Cup of Asia includes ten teams that are split between two tiers, but all participants have a chance to end up hoisting the trophy. The five teams from Group A and the best three teams from Group B will make it to the quarter-finals.

Apart from the UAE and Thailand, Group A also includes Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Kuwait.

Malaysia claimed third place last year after defeating Kuwait 5-3 in the placement game. The Kuwaiti will again play in the upper tier as the second nation from the Gulf Region beside the Emirates.

Chinese Taipei won the tournament in 2008 and on home ice in 2010. Busy hosting the U18 World Championship Division III Group A in Taipei City right now, the association hopes to see their men’s national team get back to past glory in this competition.

India and Macau return to the event in Group B. India won its first international game last year 5-1 against Macau after having started international ice hockey with a 0-12 record. Although ice hockey is not widespread in this huge country, the sport is very popular in the northern region of Ladakh where most players come from.

Defending fifth place won’t be easy for the Indians since three teams are making a comeback after having missed the Challenge Cup of Asia last year. Mongolia shares the Indians’ passion for outdoor hockey in freezing weather conditions while Hong Kong is back after a one-year hiatus and winning the event in 2011 when it was held in Kuwait.

Singapore also stages a comeback in the Challenge Cup of Asia after having missed the last two events. With a new rink opened in the country, the team hopes to convert better preparation in its new facility to improvement in the Asian competition.

“With ten participating teams the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia will reach its all-time high but this also brings its challenges with it,” says IIHF Vice President Thomas Wu. “In the next Asian Strategic Planning Group Meeting we will discuss how to structure the Challenge Cup of Asia tournaments in future.”

The event includes 28 games that will be played over nine days and 280 people will be active on the ice or in the organization.

The tournament is not only about increasing the level of play in Asian countries but also officials. 16 referees and linesmen were called to the tournament in Bangkok coming from eight different Asian countries.

“A tournament of this size brings its own challenges with it, especially in the logistical area,” says IIHF Asian Sport Development Manager Harry Springfeld shortly before the first puck drop. “We are very happy to have a good team with a lot of heart and enthusiasm here to put the puzzle together.”

The tournament opens with Mongolia vs. India. Singapore-Macau will be the other game in Group B on Saturday. Malaysia will face defending champion United Arab Emirates in the early game of Group A before host Thailand will play Kuwait.

The Preliminary Round runs from Saturday until Thursday. The Final Round with quarter-finals, semi-finals and placement games will start next Friday.

Scores, statistics and photos will be published here following the games.